*UPDATED* -- Top 11 Favorites of my "soon-to-be-no-longer-1" Little Love

As Little Love is getting ready to turn 2 in NINE DAYS, I thought I would write one more post about his 1-year-old current favorites... in no particular order, of course.

Adam's Top Eleven:
1. One new favorite has been "pretend play". Adam *loves* to play in his little house and enjoys cooking in all 3 of his play kitchens (don't ask). He likes to turn the oven on "hot", wear his "gloves" (since it's hot, you know) and cook food. Or have Mama cook food. We are definitely lacking in the play food area. Can anyone recommend some decent play food? The stuff we bought at Toys R Us is cheap and not fun. He loves these eggs that Bobbe bought him months ago so we tend to cook eggs quite often. :o) Adam also *loves* to clean (he definitely did not get that from his parents - ha!). His favorite thing is to vacuum. Riley has a Dirt Devil play vacuum and he just loved played with it. It looks and sounds so real and even picks up some dirt. Very cool. Of course, he also likes to sweep, wipe up messes, etc. He also *loves* to make messes. Pouring out juice is probably his #1 favorite thing to do. He laughs, smiles & points to the mess saying "Look what Adam did! Big Mess!". The kid's a character... never a dull moment with little love.

2. Adam loves the bath these days. He loves the tub paint that Zayde bought him and all his toys... especially the little cups. He likes to fill them with water and watch the water drip down. My mom is thinking of buying him a water table (for the deck) for his birthday. I'm all for that... he'll love it.


3. Outdoors. Adam loves to play outside, especially on a playground. He loves the slides and hates the swings. Interesting. We will continue to discover new parks this spring.

4. His Little Tykes playhouse, as mentioned above. It was a hand-me-down that was given to Michelle who gave it to us (Thanks again, Michelle!!!). Adam especially loves to hide in there. He also runs (bolts) to the house and closes the door whenever he has something he shouldn't. He then buries himself in the corner of the house and giggles. It's hilarious. My mom and I also heard him having little conversations in there today. We actually heard him say "How are you doing?"... we have no idea who he was saying it, too, but it was quite hilarious (at his age, at least!!!).



5. Adam is sooooo curious (as usual). He loves learning. We spend close to an hour every night looking at his "word books"... he wants to know what everything is. He especially likes photos of water, playgrounds, etc... all the nature stuff. :o)

6. Doggies... more than ever, if you can believe. He seriously sleeps with 8 doggies now, at last count. Current favorite right now is Baby Doggy (Gund Spunky)... I think his 2 year molars are coming in b/c he almost sucked poor Doggy's face off tonight!

7. Mama, Dada, Grandma, Bobbe, Zayde, Aunt Samantha, Uncle Jeff, Jakey, Evan, Zach, Uncle Steven, Aunt Elizabeth, Uncle Joey, Uncle Hillary (oops), Aunt Christioli, Miss Annie, Miss Nas, Jackie, Connor, Olivia, Nela, Rushan and Alivia (from "Annie's House" which is what he calls school now. He made up the name himself). These are the family members, adults & friends that he mentions nearly every day. It's very sweet.

8. Music, of course. Current favorite songs are "On the Way (Grandpa's Farm)" and "All the Raindrops" from his Barney CD. He asks for them everytime we're in the car. He can name about 20 songs now after just a few notes. Sad to say, Steven and I can, too.

9. Independence. All day long, I hear "Adam do it. Adam do it!!!". He wants to do *everything* himself. He has to get really frustrated to ask Mama or Dada for help in doing something nowadays. He has always been very careful and cautious (and fearless at the same time... an interesting combo) but is taking more risks biw. Recently, he has enjoyed climbing down the stairs, holding the railing and our hands (we have steep stairs)!

10. Making step stools from anything... lego boxes turned upside down, his wipes box turned upside down -- seriously, a toy crate, etc. and then climbing up on his "step stool" to reach onto the top of his dresser, the media center, the sink, etc. He gets so excited when his plan works and he's able to discover new things hiding "up above"... usually things that he shouldn't have (of course). We need to do a whole another round of baby-proofing one of these days!

11. Can't believe I forgot this one yesterday... Adam *loves* to hide! Whenever I tell him we have to leave somewhere in a few minutes, the next thing I know he's hiding. He picks good spots, too! We were at the Play Cafe today and I went to get his jacket... and, poof, he was gone. He was hiding in a play tunnel! Good thing another mom saw him b/c I wouldn't have & he's quiet as a mouse when hiding. He gets the giggles when I find him... we both do! He'll gladly tell me then that "Adam's hiding". He also "ran away" from me at Safeway tonight. I was ordering his birthday "cupcake-cake" and next thing I knew, he had a helium balloon in each hand, sprinting down the butter aisle... giggling the whole time. He is such a character!!! Never a dull moment, I'm telling you! :o)

There you have it... think this list could make Letterman's Show? You never know... Adam is certainly entertaining enough! Never a dull moment with this little guy! Seriously... he is the best... and so sweet & affectionate. Hopefully this will remain as the Terrible 2's are very fast approaching! :O)

"Did you say I'll be 2 in just 9 days? AAGH!!!"